


Little demons like to play

by RaccoonCati



Series: Our paths that we chose [3]
Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Avengers Tower, Gen, Harley Keener & Peter Parker are Siblings, Harley Keener is Tony Stark's Biological Child, Haunted Houses, Kid Harley Keener, Kid Peter Parker, Minor Pepper Potts/Tony Stark, Parent Tony Stark, Peter Parker is Tony Stark's Biological Child, Post-Avengers (2012), Post-Iron Man 3, Prank Wars
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-30
Updated: 2021-03-03
Packaged: 2021-03-15 09:29:09
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 4,283
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29062116
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RaccoonCati/pseuds/RaccoonCati
Summary: Or how the Stark twins decided that scaring the Avengers while their father was recovering from heart surgery would be fun. After all, the superheroes were oblivious to the fact that kids were living in the Tower.Story inspired by The Haunted Tower by inkinmyheartandonthepage
Relationships: Bruce Banner & Tony Stark, Clint Barton & Natasha Romanov, Harley Keener & Peter Parker, Peter Parker & Tony Stark, Steve Rogers & Tony Stark, Tony Stark & Avengers Team
Series: Our paths that we chose [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2005807
Comments: 37
Kudos: 499





	1. A devious plan

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [The Haunted Tower](https://archiveofourown.org/works/29055945) by [inkinmyheartandonthepage](https://archiveofourown.org/users/inkinmyheartandonthepage/pseuds/inkinmyheartandonthepage). 



> Because I don't want you to get confused, let's have a look at the boys' age: Harley and Peter Stark, fraternal twins, born on August 10th 2006.
> 
> Tony and Pepper were married before Afghanistan (which happened in 2008) and, after the Mandarin, they moved permanently into the Tower.
> 
> And Natasha knows about the kids because she worked undercover for Tony during the Palladium Poisoning incident. The rest of the team is clueless about Tony's kids, because they were kept away from the media.
> 
> That's that. AU. Deal with it.

**The Avengers Tower; January 9th 2014**

Moving to New York proved to be quite eventful when having two small children around. After the Mandarin blew up the Malibu Mansion Tony and Pepper moved to the Tower in New York. Their boys, Peter and Harley, were lucky enough to have been spending the holidays with their maternal grandparents when the attack occurred. And, when the inevitable came, the couple decided that the penthouse would work for now.

Tony needed to recover after the removal of the reactor and the kids were done with school for the first semester, so the moving went relatively smoothly. Harley couldn't care less where were they living and Peter liked New York City (mostly because they had _snow_ ). The only issue was that the team was living there too and Tony didn't mention he had kids. Pepper was spliting her time between caring for her children recovering husband and taking care of the company. She won't deal with the team, for now anyways. If the Avengers were curious, Natasha was there to provide answers. Not that they ever asked.

Now the kids were just staring at Tony sleeping on the living room couch, while a blizzard paralyzed the whole city. Pepper was making lunch and was just enjoying the time she had with her family (SI has suspended their activity for the rest of the week).

The TV was on and a documentary about haunted houses caught Harley's attention. He turned to Peter and dragged him by the arm. "Come with me. I got a crazy idea."

The two of them went to their room and Peter looked at his brother, who had a grin on his face. "What are you planning? I don't want to be in trouble."

"Relax and listen to what I just came up with." Harley was the one with bad plans and Peter was the one who, usually, got them out of trouble. "I want to pull a prank."

"On who?"

"The Avengers."

Peter put his hand on his chin, debating whether it was a bad plan or not. He decided he needed more details. "What do you have in mind?"

"Whe make them think the Tower is haunted." Peter was about to back out. He knew better than to scare trained soldiers. But Harley had everything planned out already. It was perfect. "Here me out, first. We get JARVIS and dad on board too. That way we have help _AND_ we don't get to be grounded if it doesn't go well. Simple."

Peter knew their dad would help them (partially because he was bored and would do anything to spice up his routine) and JARVIS would be helpful. Their mom might not even be mad with this. After all, it's just a little prank.

So he shook Harley's hand (like a _true_ businessman). "I'm in."

Pepper called them to lunch and the two seven year olds raced to the kitchen. This little game was just another way to kill some time. It would be harmless. Mostly.


	2. Ghosts aren't real, right?

After lunch, the boys dragged Tony in their room and told him their master plan. After listening to his kids, Tony spoke. "So, let me see if I got this right. _You two_ want to _scare_ the team?" They nodded along. " _And_ you want me to help?"

"Yeah. _Please_." Herley rarely said _'please'_ , so he really wanted to have a little fun with the _'haunted house'_ plan.

"Will you help us, daddy?" Peter was using his _'puppy eyes'_. They knew exactly how to manipulate their father.

And, ofcourse, Tony caved in moments later. "Why not. It could be fun. I really need entertainment." He crouched down in front of the boys and smirked. " What's your plan?"

Around 1 am Tony, Harley and Peter snuck into the living quarters of the team and spread out. Peter found out that he can get through the vents (with help from JARVIS) and leave handprints on the mirrors in the bathrooms. Meanwhile, Tony and Harley were in charge of misplacing equipment in the training room. Then they were out. Phase one...Complete.

The plan was a really elaborate one, even though two kids came up with. It's safe to say that the genes are showing. The plan included: little weird things appearing and disappearing (phase one), voices around the corridors at odd hours (phase two), articles online about ghosts in the area created by Tony and JARVIS (phase three) and the appearance of the actual ghosts (phase four). They were thinking on mixing them with and were doing so in several nights, as to not get caught.

Clint was the first victim. When he entered his bathroom in the morning he screamed. Nat, Steve, Thor and Bruce rushed to see what happened and found their poor teammate on the floor. A series of "What happened"s brought Clint back to reality.

"You want to know what happened? _This_ happened." He pointed at the creepy looking handprints on the mirror. Natasha got closer and saw how little the hand was (and the lack of fingerprints) and she knew instantly who did it. She taught them well. Nat wasn't about to ruin a good prank before it even started. "Are you afraid of some handprints?"

"Why are there handprints? I thought you did it, Clint." Steve saw similar prints on his mirror, but assumed it was Clint's doing. Apparently, it wasn't him.

"It wasn't _me_. Those are small hands."

Bruce was a scientist. So, by default, a sceptical person. He wasn't exactly the kind of guy that believes in ghosts. But aliens are real, so anything was possible. "Let me see." He analyzed the size of the hand. "It looks like a kid's hand."

"No shit, Sherlock."

Thor wasn't sure what was happening, but he knew it looked like the kind of _'spooky stuff'_ Darcy showed him once. "I think it would be best to not start looking around for spirits. They might just be passing by."

"Thor, ghosts are _NOT_ real!" Clint went to the kitchen, everyone following close behind.

Nat was the only one to head for the elevator. "Why are you so scared if you don't believe they're real?" And with that, she left to speak with Tony. She wanted to be prepared for what was coming next.

Meanwhile, with Pepper at work, the Stark _'men'_ were watching the footage of the Avengers arguing and searching for the items that were misplaced, while debating if it was a real ghost that moved them and left the prints in everyone's bathrooms.

Tony turned when he heard the elevator doors opening and called for Natasha to join them on the couch. "Popcorn, Romanoff? The show just started." It was clear she wasn't going to fall for a kid's joke. But she elected to keep an act just for the sake of his children, so she deserved popcorn.

"From what I remember, you should keep a low salt diet, Tony."

"Want the kids to tell you the plan?"

"Why do you think I came up here?"

Harley turned to face Nat and smiled proudly. "It's my plan and it's genius. The best one _yet_."

The ex-assassin had a soft spot for children. And Harley and Peter were one of her favorites. "Fill me in, Harls. And tell me who made the prints."

Peter raised his hand, his eyes still on the screen, laughing at the confusion of the adults downstairs.

By the time Natasha came back to the common room, it was quite. JARVIS made sure nothing could be seen on the security cameras, so they were met with a dead end. "Stark found prints on his mirror and he said he wasn't here since his surgery. He's still in bed rest." Her face was emotionless, not giving any doubt that she was lying.

Clint was already set with the only 'rational' conclusion: Ghosts are real. Now they just hopped to be just a one time thing. But it was just the beginning.


	3. Creepy teddy in the house

The next phase of the grand scheme was to bring the ghost to ' _life_ '. Harley and Peter were fortunate enough to have a large collection of toys and one of those toys was an old teddy bear that used to be Tony's (a gift from his mother when he was about two years old). Tony and JARVIS were set to monitor the team and make sure they wouldn't see the boys, while Nat helped them get through the vents around the sleeping quarters. Their ultimate goal for the night was to get into the role of the unsettled souls and call their ' _mommy_ ' and leave the bear behind, so that poor Clint could find it.

Around 11 pm Peter hopped into the vents and crawled until he got above Clint's room. Harley sneaked into the living room (with Natasha's help) and began ' _haunting_ ' the Avengers.

Clint was sleeping soundly underneath four blankets that were meant to protect him from the phantoms. But something outside of his room woke him up.

"What the...?" From the hallway, pattering sound of footsteps caught his attention. And not because it was unusual for someone to be awake in the middle of night, but because they seemed to be kids, not grown ass adults. "You've got to be kidding me. Please tell me I'm just imagining it."

He got up from his nest and opened the door. The halls were empty and all the other doors were closed. Thinking he was just starting to lose his mind, Clint closed his door, only to open it again when a childlike voice made itself heard.

" _Mommy...? Where is my mommy?_ "

Clint rushed outside, to try to catch a glimpse of whoever was behind that voice. But there was no trace of anyone being there. "Okay... Time for plan B."

He was not going to start believing in ghosts just because a bodyless voice was scaring the shit out of him in the dead of the night. He could climb the vents and find the prankster. That was easier than looking in every room and waking up the rest of the team.

While Harley and Nat were laughing at the archer's confusion (both in the spy's bedroom), Peter dropped from the ceiling, joining them with a wide grin. "I left the bear in Clint's hideout, just above his bedroom. He's going to _scream_ when he sees it."

"Good job, boys." Nat high-fived them both then motioned to her bathroom. "Now go hide in there until I tell you it's safe to go back to the penthouse." She looked up. "JARVIS, where's Clint?"

"Climbing through the vents as we speak. And sir is altering the images on the security cameras."

"Good."

Clint was about to go check on every corner of the Tower, but something in his little safe haven in the vents made him freeze. A brown teddy bear with a bowtie was facing him. The scream he let out woke the whole floor up, Steve and Thor rushing to see who died, because there was no way someone could yell like, unless they saw a dead body.

Bruce and Natasha joined Steve and Thor in Clint's bedroom, where the archer was on his bed, bundled up in his blankets, the brown teddy on the floor, surrounded by knives ( _Where did he get those knives?!_ ). "I'm moving out!" Clint Barton was terrified and it was clear that he will never contest the existence of supernatural ever again. The superheroes never got back to sleep that night, preferring to guard the possessed toy. Aliens were nothing compared with spirits at this point.

In the penthouse, Tony kissed his ' _little demons_ ' goodnight. This night had been full of fun moments for the boys and traumatizing experiences for his teammates. But it was far from over.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm back! And I'm ready to destroy the team's mental health.
> 
> The boys are cruel. And this is nothing.
> 
> Clint had been the first victim. Next up: Thor. What do you think can make the God of Thunder believe that the Tower is haunted?
> 
> Also, Pepper will find out about this prank. But she won't do anything to stop them. I can guarantee you this.
> 
> Until next time.
> 
> P.S. I have a Tumblr if you want to ask me anything or propose anything, tell me what you want. Things like that
> 
> https://raccooncati.tumblr.com/


	4. Web pages and worthy ghosts

Tony was busy writing an online article about the " _accident that took the life of a little boy_ ". He was interrupted by a call just before uploading the article.

"Who is it, FRIDAY?" He groaned, rubbing a hand over his eyes.

"Colonel Rhodes, boss."

Tony answered the call, then started spinning with his chair. "Good morning, Honey Bear. What can I do for you? Need some love advices or upgrades for the suit?"

"Very funny. I heard your tower is haunted."

Tony scoffed, it was clear someone spilled the beans. "Who told you that? Natasha? The boys? Who?"

"Natasha. And how far do you guys plan on taking this? They'll find out eventually, you know that."

"Tell you what" Tony returned to his computer and started typing. "I'll send you the story we came up with and you can tell me how far we can go. Sounds good, Platypus?" Hearing no answer, Tony knew Rhodey was on board, so he uploaded the article and sent a copy of it to his friend.

Meanwhile, in Bruce's lab, the team was waiting for the scientist to finish analyzing the teddy (at Clint's insistence). Thor approached Steve, a bag of snacks in one hand. "I do believe that toy is harmless. Spirits would use real weapons, not stuffed animals, right?"

Cap turned to face the God of Thunder, with his hands tucked in his pockets. "We fought aliens. You're from space. We need to be precocious about this." He took a potato chip from Thor and looked over his shoulder. "But you're right. This _is_ ridiculous."

Behind Steve, Clint was holding the stuffed bear with one of his arrows, while Bruce worked on scanning it. Natasha was not present. She left to talk with Tony and convince him to come down to the lab with her.

Tony was having fun writing about ghosts and falsifying martors' statements. That was until he walked into his living room and found Pepper talking with Natasha. He stopped, looking at the two women like a deer in the headlights.

"I heard you and the boys had an interesting couple of nights. Do you mind sharing with me what you've been up to recently, dear?"

"Ahm..." If there's any person that can make Tony Stark feel like he's being scold by his mother, that's Pepper. But he could see she was more amused than pissed, so that was good.

And Nat was here. She asked him if he could make an appearance downstairs, so that Steve and Clint would stop suspecting him. That's exactly what Tony did. But only after he recuperated from the initial shock that was Pepper finding out about the boys' " _game_ ".

Back in the lab, Bruce finally ( **finally!!** ) got Clint to calm down after he explained to the archer that the toy was completely harmless. "It's not possessed either, if you were still wondering."

"You don't know that! It appeared out of nowhere, don't forget that."

"What appeared out of nowhere, Legolas? Please tell me is your relevance in the team."

Tony berely stepped foot in the room before Clint started shoving the teddy bear in his direction. "That joke was not funny, Stark! Take this away before I set it on fire!"

"I don't know what you're talking about, Barton. My wife doesn't even let me in my lab. How would I be able to pull a joke on you when this is the first time I left my penthouse in days?"

The others sided with Tony this time. He was still recovering from surgery and he couldn't possibly be responsible for the toy in the vents, or the handprints.

Bruce stood up from where he was sitting at a desk and brought up his tablet. "I found something. An article from a ten years ago."

Nat raised an eyebrow (she was impressed by the fact that Tony falsified the date as well) and started to read out loud. "After a tragical accident which resulted in the death of a seven years old boy, locals have confessed that they heard the voice of a child calling after its mother and paranormal activities in the surrounding area, such as objects appearing and disappearing, had been associated with the supposed ghost of that child."

Clint looked like he was a second away from passing out (probably due to his fear that this was real) and Steve and Thor looked terrified. The only ones that weren't scared that the article might be true were Tony (because of the obvious reason) and Bruce (because he was a scientist and probably didn't believe in ghosts). Nat had to admit that Tony did a good job at writing this stuff. The article went on, detailing about paranormal activities and "real proof" that the ghost exists.

"I told you it was real! I even heard it last night!" Clint stepped towards the door of the lab. "I'm going to pack my bags. There's no way I'm spending another day in this place."

Tony took the bear from the floor and started going after Clint. "You forgot your souvenir, Legolas!"

Unknown to everyone else, Peter snuck into the training room. He wasn't sure what he wanted to do yet, but he knew it had to be big. His eyes landed on Mjölnir and something clicked. Peter stepped closer to the hammer and touched the handle. It was like a dream come true to be able to touch Thor's hammer. But then the boy had another brilliant idea. He gripped the handle with both hands and pulled. To his surprise, Mjölnir moved. Peter was shocked. He was worthy ( **He was worthy!** ). Then he figured what his next move was. He took the hammer and ran in the elevator.

Apparently, Harley wasn't exactly able to lift the hammer, but he was able to tilt it a little. He didn't mind though. He had another role in this anyways. Peter came with Mjölnir in their room and asked his brother to prepare his " _special recipe_ " of adhesive. They returned to the Avengers' living quarters and glued the hammer to the back of the TV that was in the launge area.

A couple of hours after they read the article and debated whether it was real or not, Rogers convinced Tony to come in the training room and see if he can fix the mechanism of one of the climbing walls. Everything was fine, until Thor realized something. "Why isn't Mjölnir here? I thought I left it in this room."

Clint was about to say that the ghost took it, but Thor was already calling Mjölnir to him. When a TV flew in the room, Thor was even more confused. And so was everyone, except "Paranoid" Barton.

Tony looked between the hammer and the TV a few times, then announced that he wasn't feeling good and left. He needed to know which one of his sons was, apparently, the new king of Asgard.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There you have it. And the next one is the final one. Hope you enjoy it.
> 
> Until next time.


	5. Fake blood, white sheets and two little demons

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Last one. Yey :)
> 
> English is my second language, so, if I made any mistakes, feel free to correct me.
> 
> Without further ado, happy reading and enjoy.

With the Avengers fully convinced that a real ghost was haunting them, Peter and Harley were ready for the final stage of their plan: bringing the ghost to "life".

The boys are really lucky that their parents are loaded, or else they would've been grounded for life the minute Pepper found them cutting holes in a couple of white bed sheets. Still, she was not going to let it slide so easily.

"What are you two up to now?" Peter dropped the scissors instantly. The sight of his mom in the doorway, with her hands on her hips, was sending chills up his back.

Harley, on the other hand, continued to cut the material while answering. "We're making our ghost costumes for tonight."

Pepper signed and made her way into the room, crouching beside her kids on the floor. "You should've asked someone for help. It's not safe to use the big scissors without an adult around." She took the pair of scissors that fell on the floor and then proceeded to take the one in Harley's hand. "I'll help you, but don't tell your dad." Pepper winked, signaling to Peter that he wasn't in trouble (because he was still scarred he was).

Later, after the boys were covered with the white sheets, heads out through the holes they cut and anything else covered by the material, Natasha came by with a tiny bag with fake blood (Harley's request). The whole idea was that the boys would dress up the same, paint their faces white and walk around the Avengers quarters at midnight. Horror.

Tony got the teddy back, so Peter could use it as part of his disguise, while Harley would cover himself in fake blood and leave prints around the corridors. Tony suggested to have them separated, because in the made up story there was just one ghost. Pete in the vents (just for Clint) and Harls around the halls.

As the night was settling in the city the team abandoned their quest in finding out what was haunting their home and were relying now on Natasha to be on watch guard while Thor was still cleaning Mjölnir (with a little bit of help from Steve) and Bruce was acting as Clint's therapist. And, at midnight, she was left alone in the hallways. Nat hopped in the elevator the second she knew she was alone and met Tony and the boys in the penthouse.

The first victim was Clint (as always). Peter crawled through the vents (white sheet and make up, teddy in hand) until he reached the archer's room. Clint wasn't sleeping (and, he was honest, he will never fall asleep in the Tower again). When he heard noises above his head he fought the urge to run for his life and hopped out of the bed. Might as well try to catch the ghost. Worst case scenario, he will find another toy, he thought.

Once in the vents, Clint followed the noise. "I can't believe I'm doing this. How does _nobody_ hears this but me?"

When he turned a corner the avenger was met with a white, small silhouette, holding the possessed toy in one hand.

Clint rubbed his eyes, thinking there was just his imagination and lack of sleep that were messing with him. " _What the hell?_ "

The "ghost" smiled at him and opened his mouth. "Have you seen my mommy?"

Clint bolted back to his room, terror in his eyes. "This shit is real! **GUYS**!"

If he would've stayed there he would've seen the "ghost" laughing at his reaction. Peter definitely had fun doing this. And it's only the beginning.

Steve and Thor rushed down the hall when they heard Clint scream, but they stopped in their track when a small, white figure with bloodstained hands appeared in front of the two. From their respective rooms came Bruce, Nat and Clint.

The archer pointed towards the intruder with a shaky finger. " _The ghost_... It was in the vents a second ago. With the teddy bear in hands." He whispered, afraid of being attacked by the "spirit".

Harley took this as his cue to start talking. "Where is my mommy? Have you seen her?" He took a step further, red hand dragged along the wall, leaving a stain on it.

Nobody moved or spoke. Natasha should be nominated for the Oscars. She was acting like she genuinely had no idea what was happening. Clint backed away, going in his room, only to see the "ghost" with the stuffed bear mear inches from him. With Mjölnir in the other hand. Smiling at him.

Peter took the hammer after he was sure Thor was in the hallway. He, then, returned to Clint's room. With a grin that matched his dad's, the boy ask again for his "mommy".

The lights went off. Steve jumped to grab the "ghost" he saw first but he failed. When the lights were back on, both "ghosts" were gone.

Thor was left without his weapon and all of them were left in the hallway, gaping at each other.

Then, there was a clapping noise coming from the lounge area. The Avengers ran there, only to see Tony laughing and clapping, the "ghosts" beside him.

Bruce almost burst into laughter, realizing what happened. They got pranked by Tony Stark and his kids, apparently.

Thor saw Mjölnir in the hands of one of the not-ghosts and was thinking he finally found someone worthy he could show some moves to.

Steve looked between Tony and Natasha and frowned, knowing they just messed with all of them. That was a cruel joke.

Clint took in everything, then yelled. "WHAT THE HELL IS THIS?!"

"Morons, this are my kids" Tony pointed at each of his boys as he introduced them. "Herley and Peter."

Harley took off his "costune" and ran to Nat to give her a high-five. " _I can't believe we pranked the Avengers._ " he said under his breath.

Peter abandoned the white sheet and the toy and approached the team. "Sorry for the scare, but I really had fun. It's amazing meeting you all. I'm a big fan." He handed Thor the hammer. "Sorry for the glue thing, Mr. Thor."

"Let's get something to eat and the boys can tell you how they came up with this, 'cause I have nothing to do with it." Tony motioned for the team to follow him into the kitchen.

From that night, the Avengers never once trusted Natasha or Tony again when it came down to weird things in the Tower. Steve was surprised to find out that Tony was a father. Pretty much everyone was. But it sure meant that trust was established between the members of the team. And Clint definitely told Tony that he was also a father, because he wasn't stupid to pass on the occasion to have a dad-friend. This past few days could make a good story for a family barbecue.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I really had fun with this one. But this chapter took me forever to start. Between online classes and my brother's wedding I really had no time to get it out last week (like I wanted to). But I'm happy it's done and posted now.
> 
> Thank you so much for your sweet comments and your patience.
> 
> If you want to see more of what could have been if Harley and Peter were brothers and close in age I recommend you my other story, Leaving the past in the past (isn't easy). I'll update it (hopefully) this week.
> 
> And, if you are Pepperony fans, the second part of To Mr. and Mrs. Stark will be up soon.
> 
> Thanks again for reading my story. Bye!


End file.
